


After the Ruby Heist

by SaiiborumaSupremacy



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Other, Transgender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28021557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaiiborumaSupremacy/pseuds/SaiiborumaSupremacy
Summary: The ruby was stolen by the toppats, most likely by Reginald and his Right hand man. But what if it was different for the Right hand man back then?
Relationships: Reginald Copperbottom/Right Hand Man
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. The Returning

**Author's Note:**

> Idk what else to tag oof.

"Nice work!" Reginald cheered.  
Ashley smiled, and gave a slight nod.  
She felt Reginald wrap his arm around her neck, and pull her in tight. She got really flustered.  
"We're gonna be the best heist partners! We're going to do so many together!" He told his friend.  
Ashley nodded.  
What was so special about Reginald? It made her feel special too, yet she had been treated like garbage for most of her life. Reginald didn't even know her name. He gave her the feeling that he was autistic, just like herself. But those feelings weren't enough to stop her from feeling guilty about her gender. She was always tormented for acting masculine, when she was female. Even her best friend betrayed her.  
"Something wrong?" Reginald loosened his grip.  
"Wha!? Oh! N-No... I'm okay." Ashley shook her head and glanced at Reginald.  
Ashley let herself go into her own world of thought. She strongly preferred to go by a they/them rather than she/her, yet she didn't have the confidence to say that. Maybe she would come out as non-binary. What if Reginald hated her if she came out as non-binary? Or became a transgender even?  
Ashley had been exhausted from the ruby heist, yet she had so much energy.  
"Hey, you're spacing out a lot. Are you sure you're okay?" Reginald made her snap out of thought again.  
"Uh-huh. All good!" Ashley tried not to make herself sound anxious, and failed terribly.  
"..."  
"You can tell me if something's wrong, Right."  
"I was just... thinking about something."  
"Like what?"  
Something in Ashley snapped, and it brought tears to her eyes. "You'd make fun of me if I told you."  
"No I wouldn't! Who do you think I am, Terrence!?" Reginald retorted.  
"I was thinking about my gender. And my preferred pronouns."  
"Oh." Reginald said, monotonely shocked. "I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting that. Well, what pronouns would you prefer?"  
"Uh..." Ashley blinked a few times. She didn't know. "I don't know."  
"Okay then. Does he/him work for you?" Reginald sounded understanding.  
Ashley knew that she was female, yet she honestly preferred the he/him pronouns. "Y-Yeah, that's fine." She partially lied.  
"Okay then!"  
Ashley was exhausted, and wanted to fall asleep right then and there, but couldn't. Reginald would probably have something to say about that.  
"Are you tired? You look tired." Reginald asked with concern.  
Ashley didn't respond.  
"I mean, it's okay if you are. The heist was pretty tiring after all."  
That made Ashley want to respond. "Yeah, I'm exhausted."  
"That's fine. Do you want go to the crew quarters? I'm tired too." Reginald made Ashley feel just that much better about herself.  
"Yeah. I'll be right behind you." Ashley told him.  
"Alright then. I'll be waiting!" Reginald said, standing and walking off.  
Ashley wasn't planning to go to the crew quarters. She was going somewhere else, and come back as a whole new person.


	2. Where have you been, Ashley?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley returns and presents him/her/themselves to Terrence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Terrence a transphobe for angst.

Ashley tied his hair into a long ponytail to make himself more masculine. He was extremely tired and dazed from anesthesia. He had to start considering a new name, too. It was almost five a.m. and the sky had just started to break light.  
_Two minutes... Two minutes..._  
Ashley was desperately waiting for it to hit five o'clock. That's when the Toppat's wake up call was announced.  
He waited silently, his insomnia almost eating him alive.  
_What am I going to tell Terrence and Reginald..._  
Ashley walked to the crew quarters and entered his part of the crew quarters. He and Reginald shared a room, and he sat down on this bed.  
_One minute... One minute..._  
Ashley glanced down at the floor for a moment. Each second felt like hours. He glanced back up at Reginald, who was peacefully asleep. His top hat hung on a clip on the wall, and his dark gloves lay on his dresser. His brown curls were in a mess, as he had probably been rolling around in his sleep. He looked kind of cute like that.  
_Soon... Soon..._  
Ashley tried to blink some insomnia out of his eyes, and failed. He really didn't want to move.  
_"Attention all Toppats, this is a wake up call. Please prepare yourselves for the day."_ The Toppat speaker announced.  
It made Ashley flinch, even though he was used to hearing it. He glanced over at Reginald who still looked half asleep, yet he was awake.  
"Mornin' Reg." Ashley rasped, realizing how much more masculine his voice got since last time he spoke.  
"Morning Right..." He mumbled back. "Your voice changed..."  
Ashley didn't mind him noticing the change. Anyone would've noticed it.  
"Or am I just high on sleep? Or autism even?" Reginald asked.  
Ashley snickered. "No, no you're not. I noticed it too."  
"Good." Reginald said, sitting up and stretching. He was wearing a thin white short-sleeved shirt in his sleep. "Did you get a good sleep?" He asked, reaching for his gloves.  
"Not really. I didn't sleep much at all." Ashley answered honestly.  
"Why not?" Reginald kept talking to him, slipping on his gloves then reaching for his hairbrush.  
"I dunno." Ashley lied. It didn't feel good lying to his best friend.  
"Hm. Okay." Reginald said, starting to brush his messy hair into what was his usual neat brown curls. "You should brush your hair, it looks messy. What were you thinking trying to hold it up without brushing it?"  
Ashley glanced at his hair for a moment, then his gaze dragged him over to his dresser, which lay his hair brush.  
"I'm not motivated to do anything at all." He sighed.  
"If you're not going to do it, I'm going to do it for you." Reginald told him strictly, finishing brushing his hair and reaching for his gray top hat.  
Ashley blinked a few times. "Then go a'ead." He nodded, accepting the offer. He really didn't want to move, but he would. It would just take him a minute.  
"Alright then." Reginald finished adjusting his top hat, then stood to flick on the lights. He walked over and grabbed Ashley's hair brush, untying his bright dark-colored hair and letting it fall loosely. He began to stroke the brush through his hair. "Your hair's really delicate, you know?"  
"Mhm." Ashley didn't want to move or say anything. He just let Reginald do his thing.

"You okay? You're not moving much."  
"I dun't want t' move." Ashley responded.  
"I know, I didn't either, but we have to. Terrence probably has something foolish for us to do." Reginald told Ashley.  
Ashley snickered a little. "Probably."  
Reginald moved the brush away from Ashley's hair. "Done. There you go." He told him. "Doesn't that feel much better?"  
"Mhm." Ashley said again. It did, and he meant it.  
"Can you leave for a moment while I change?"  
"Sure thing."  
Ashley left the dark room, closing the door behind him. He leaned on the wall next to the door, waiting for Reginald.  
He tried to blink away some insomnia again, but it didn't work. He was exhausted. He then glanced over at a window to look at the lightening sky again. It had broken a little more light since the last time he had looked at it.  
Ashley was looking at it for a few moments, just before when Reginald emerged from their room.  
"Hi Right, you ready?" Reginald asked.  
"Mhm." Ashley nodded.  
"Alright then, let's go." Reginald spoke, grabbing onto Ashley's wrist and taking him to the cockpit, where Terrence probably was.  
Ashley didn't like Terrence, and neither did Reginald. Terrence was a reckless leader who always risked clan members in heists and other foolish raids. He didn't care about the clan, he only cared about himself.  
Ashley wished Reginald was the leader instead. He would've rebuilt the Toppat Clan so much better. He cares for his clan, and will do anything for them. No matter their gender, age, sexuality, opinions, or anything. He'd die for any one of them. However, whenever Reginald asked him to be his Right Hand Man, Ashley swore to protect him at all costs.

"Good morning, chief." Reginald greeted Terrence.  
It was kind of funny how polite Reginald would act to Terrence, no matter how much he hated him.  
"Reginald and his Right hand man, I see." Terrence spoke.  
Terrence suddenly glared at Ashley for a few moments.  
Ashley stayed quiet and anxious.  
"Reginald, could you leave for a minute while I speak to your Right hand man?" Terrence suddenly spoke.  
That made Ashley nervous.  
Reginald nodded and left the cockpit.  
Ashley gazed at Reginald while he left, then nervously glanced back at Terrence.  
"Ashley," Terrence began. "I know you're a transgender."  
"What? How!?" Ashley's eyes widened.  
"Oh come on, you dumbass. You changed so much since the last time I saw you after the ruby heist. You couldn't have undergone such a big change in one night." Terrence told him.  
"So what if I'm transgender? How is that effecting you?" Ashley retorted.  
"A transgender doesn't belong in this clan." Terrence said angrily. "You are either born male or female, and you're supposed to stay that way for the rest of your life."  
"'Supposed to' my ass!" Ashley retorted. "Just because it's supposed to be that way, doesn't mean it has to be! I am allowed to be a transgender if I want to, and you can't change that!"  
"You were born female, and you were supposed to stay female." Terrence was staying calm about the topic. "Your autism convinced you to change, when you shouldn't have!"  
"Oh, so now you're blaming it on my autism!" Ashley retaliated. "So you hate me because I'm an autistic transgender!? That's so stupid!"  
"You were born female, and you were meant to be female! Don't you understand!?  
Ashley felt himself start to cry. "That's none of your business! I wasn't comfortable being female! I didn't even mature properly as one! This is who I am now! I am no longer Ashley, I am Asher!"  
"Well, if that's what you think..." Terrence started again. "You can gladly get out of the Toppat Clan."  
"I ca-!" Asher started a retort.  
"Leave, you disgrace to the clan. I never wish to see you again." Terrence shooed away Asher.  
"Fine then!" Asher spoke, leaving the cockpit.


End file.
